Playtime!

I have been unbelievably busy at work. So what do I do? I develop a myriad of interests in new techniques I want to try. Call it creative ADD, call it passion, call it crazy--I has it.

So over the past month or so, I haven't really made much to sell. I've made some pieces for Znet Shows, but that's about it for jewelry. I've made a few lampwork beads, but haven't managed to even eke out a full set!

Here's what I have been up to. I bought a huge spool of copper wire so I could make my own headpins. And I tried to enamel them:

Yummy firescale!

And, a bunch of enamel flaked off...that wasn't supposed to happen!

Then I find out that headpins are a pain to enamel, because they tend to flake. So I feel better, and have done my research to fix that problem.

Next, a wonderful friend of mine took time out of his busy schedule to teach me how to use a jewelry saw. I had already heard from others that I could expect to break blades, curse a lot, and basically, swear off cutting my own metal forever.

Well, he is a great teacher, because he was able to advise me of the pitfalls and correct my technique so that I was able to practice without breaking my blade once. Yes, I am impressed with myself. I still need to practice my straight lines, because I want them perfect, but I think I've got the curves down nicely.

Aluminum triangle and copper shapes

Finally, I have been itching to do more bead enameling ever since I took my class last August at Bead Fest. I am finding that a lot of the raw copper beads out there really aren't pure copper, because I have had a lot of issues. But I finally ordered some iron beads from Barbara Lewis, and had some great results.

Big, beautiful beads!

You can see that the small blue one has some parts around the hole where the enamel didn't adhere. There must be some zinc in that part of the bead, because this has been a consistent issue with that style. Thankfully, I bought the small copper beads at a bead store and only bought a few, so I'm going to just use them as regular copper beads in my jewelry instead.

Next on the agenda? Etching! My plan is to etch some copper, and then use my new sawing skills to make some funky earrings. Someday, maybe I'll settle on one thing...but not today!

Enameling Fun!

I wanted to post the results of my second class taken at Bead Fest, and enameling class with Gail Crosman Moore.

I have to say that Gail was a phenomenal teacher--her enthusiasm is infectious! She made me feel like I could actually have fun and experiment, rather than being worried if I was going to be able to make anything worth bragging about!

I have never played with enamels before, even with my lampwork. I own a small bottle of Orchid from Thomson Enamels, which I have never opened. So I was really walking in with no experience, but we were going to be able to play with a torch, and that is right up my alley!

Like any new technique, there was a learning curve...I figured out pretty quick that some of the components wouldn't work as good as the others...and I realized I needed to be more generous with my heat. You can see some of the pieces that didn't turn out so well below.

It's a learning curve, right?

Now a few, I really loved. While they aren't at the point where I would use them in a piece of jewelry I plan on selling, I can see the definite improvement from the first few pieces I wrestled with.

Now, for the ugly. I mean, really ugly.

Non-intentional fiber art?

That, my friends, is what you get when you drop a hot brass component on a piece of carpeting. Or maybe it's a new type of component: the polyester-glazed bead. What the above was supposed to look like was more like this:

That's a little bit prettier. And a lot less furry.